When We Were Young
by Mayab
Summary: A young Mercedes and Gwendolyn go on a field trip and meet some new people.


I swear, I don't own Odin Sphere. If I did…Mercedes! Ingway! Why!!!

* * *

The entire third grade class of Ringford Elementary got off the bus with screams and cheers, delighted to be at the school that was their goal. Ragnanival High, _the_ best high school in the area, not to mention the last school they'd be required to attend, stood before them, tall and proud, frightening to the children. Well, most of the children. Mercedes muttered mischievous plans in her best friend's ear, Gwendolyn doing her best not to giggle. Neither was looking forward to the assembly, though Mercedes was decidedly more against it, and both were thinking this would be the perfect opportunity to explore.

The creation and execution of Mercedes' plan was simple. They slowly drifted to the end of the line, waited until it was time for a bathroom break (right after they entered the building—there was nothing worse than one hundred twitchy third graders, as many teachers could attest to) then waited, hidden in a stall, until they were sure everyone had move onto the auditorium. Then, Mercedes, who was less noticeable than Gwendolyn, though still very noticeable, leaned out the door, and gave the all clear signal. Still, they were near the entrance, so the two quickly ran down the hall, their footsteps dull thuds indistinguishable over the loud chatter coming from the assembly.

Within minutes they found the lunchroom, filled with large wooden tables and moveable chairs. It was ten times better than Ringford Elementary's lunchroom, and to Mercedes's delight, had an assortment of vending machines. Gwendolyn hung back as her friend ran to the machines, cooing random comments about the candy it held. She eyed the hallways, making sure no one was approaching, then climbed onto a table.

"I'll take you, cacao bar, and you, Napple bits, and—"

Gwendolyn crouched and leaped, landing with a loud crash on another table. Mercedes jumped, screaming, and whirled to see Gwendolyn climbing off the table, grinning bashfully.

"Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" Mercedes yelped, pointing accusingly.

Gwendolyn put her hands on her hips. "You are too young for a heart attack. Griselda said so."

"Griselda thinks she knows everything."

"She does," Gwendolyn said, wide-eyed with hero-worship toward her sister. Griselda was in middle school, with bells and blocks and lockers. Her text books were huge, heavy, and some were in foreign languages, amazing Gwendolyn to no end.

Mercedes snorted. "Yeah. Sure. _Everything_."

"She does!" Gwendolyn protested.

For a moment, both were certain the bickering would continue, but the sound of footsteps—loud, approaching footsteps—gave enough warning that the two wheeled around and took off. Not, of course, before Mercedes grabbed her candy and change, but the two were quick on their feet and up the nearest stairway before anyone could see them.

"Time to explore! First step: find an open, empty classroom," instructed Mercedes, who broke her cacao bar in half, biting one and shoving the other into Gwendolyn's hand. She checked the nearest door, frowning when it didn't open. "It's a school! Who's gonna rob a school? They should leave the doors unlocked for curious kids, like us!"

Gwendolyn withheld the urge to point out that they weren't supposed to be there in favor of checking another door. Halfway down the hall, Mercedes cheered, shoving a door open. She charged in, curiosity overruling caution like always. With a sigh, Gwendolyn followed her through the first door, then another.

"It's so dark," Mercedes marveled.

"I think it's a development room. For pictures."

"Find the light! I wanna see what high schoolers take pictures of."

Gwendolyn nodded, pointlessly, and searched the wall for a switch. When she found it, she gave warning, then flipped it.

There were few things in the world both Gwendolyn and Mercedes were afraid of. Monsters, snakes, and kiddy shows were about the only ones they could both agree on, and while Gwendolyn couldn't understand her friend's irrational fear of frogs, she came closer than she ever would in her life when the first thing they saw was a large close up of a frog's head. It was huge, bulbous, and the scariest thing either girl had ever seen.

Naturally, they ran screaming.

* * *

Velvet adjusted the boxes she was carrying, cursing at the size. All day she had been running errands, helping to prepare for the big presentation, and when it finally starts, an upperclassman asks her to run even more errands. As a freshman, Velvet couldn't refuse a request from someone who could easily make her life hell, so she accepted the tasks set before her with grace. All she had to do was drop of the boxes, pick up a few more, and run those back to the gym, and she'd be free to retreat to the auditorium. Hopefully her friends remembered to save a seat for her.

She was probably halfway to her destination when the boxes fell. With a short screech, she kicked a box she knew only contained costumes. Then she kicked it again.

_One more kick'll make me feel better_, she thought, drawing her leg back. She was about to let it fly when something knocked her off her feet. Velvet groaned, happy that whatever hit her wasn't too heavy. She struggled for a moment, then managed to sit up. Seeing what hit her, Velvet paused.

The girl sat on the floor, rubbing her lower back and scowling. Her silvery hair floated around her head, shorn only a few inches long, and her eyes were dark blue, the same eyes as her father. Velvet knew, without question, that the girl sitting in front of her was one of her sisters, daughters of their shared father.

Griselda or Gwendolyn—Velvet never bothered to keep them straight—noticed her, and jumped up. "I'm sorry!" she babbled, trying not to cry. "I didn't mean—there was a monster and—Mercedes! My friend's missing!"

Velvet blinked, taking the words in slowly. When she gathered the meaning—the girl saw something that scared her and got separated from her friend—she chuckled. "I'll help you find your friend."

The girl gasped. "Really? You will? Oh, thank you thank you thank you!" She finished the question by giving Velvet a hug, then grabbed one of the boxes. "I'll help you carry these, okay?"

Velvet nodded. _Wait till Ingway hears about this._

_

* * *

  
_

Ingway, at that moment, also ran into someone. Or, more accurately, tripped over someone, nearly dropping his carefully organized papers. He caught himself, turned to give whoever it was a piece of his mind, and stopped when he saw the culprit. No matter how angry he was, he had ethics, and yelling at a crying child greatly conflicted with those.

"Hey," he said, trying to get her attention. "Hey. What's wrong?" He repeated himself when ignored, and when he was ignored once again, set his papers down and picked the child up. She squeaked, kicking at him, then started twisting. After a few minutes she stopped, and Ingway repeated his question.

"Some idiot's holding me and won't let go," she replied, glaring at him. Ingway gawked at her gall.

"Idiot? I happen to have a four-point-oh grade point average!"

"So? I heard you can get higher than that. Who cares about four when five is so much better?" This was followed up by her sticking her tongue out, a move Ingway hadn't seen in years.

"Seriously? A raspberry? That's the best you can do? No more cutting comments or witty remarks? Not that you had many to begin with."

The brown eyes narrowed and a foot launched, landing a solid blow in Ingway's stomach—_Only the stomach, thank god, only the stomach._ Many years of having a sister had prepared him for any sort of action taken against him, and he gripped the girl tighter.

"Not smart, little girl. Aren't you supposed to be with your class?" The girl's renewed struggling came to an abrupt halt, and Ingway smirked. "Won't you get in trouble if I turn you in?" Sullen silence was answer enough. "Okay, how about you tell me why you were crying?"

The girl's eyes welled up, and she wailed "I saw a frog! A big, ugly frog!"

Ingway involuntarily glanced at the stack near his feet, then back at the girl. "You saw a frog?"

She nodded. "A picture of one! It was huge! It was scary! Even Gwendolyn was scared!"

A gnawing feeling—yes, that was guilt, though how was he supposed to know someone with ranidaphobia would stumble into the darkroom—filled his stomach and he set the girl down. Awkwardly, he patted her head. "There, there. It's okay, there are no frogs here."

The girl gasped. "Oh, no! Gwendolyn! I left her behind! Mister, my friend's here! We accidentally split up, but she's alone, and we gotta find her! Can you help, please?" She grabbed his hand and gave him puppy dog eyes. Ingway sighed and nodded. "Yay!"

* * *

"Gwendolyn!"

"Mercedes!"

The two girls hugged each other, and, after a moment, each started scolding the other.

Ingway looked at Velvet and motioned to Gwendolyn. Velvet nodded.

"Anyway," Gwendolyn began.

"We're really grateful," continued Mercedes.

"But we should go find our class."

"Yeah, this place is scary."

Velvet waved after the two, while Ingway just stood still.

"So, after a half-hearted search, the brat and the kid who may be our sister take off, just like that?"

"I guess so," Velvet shrugged.

"After being terrified by my picture…"

"Huh?"

"Oh, nothing."

End

Okay, so you're probably wondering why this isn't longer. The reason is because this is a side story to a longer story I will soon start writing. I'm in Velvet's chapter, but I want to finish the game (good ending and bad) before I start the main one. If you like this, please say so. Any tips and constructive criticism is welcome.


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